Augustins Street

Historic site and monument

Rue des Augustins
38460 Crémieu

A testament to Crémieu’s commercial heritage, this street features a selection of shops with shopfront windows dating from the very late 15th century to the 19th century.
The shopfront windows are those large, rounded windows known as ‘basket-handle’ windows.

The architecture of the houses on Rue des Augustins illustrates Crémieu’s commercial vitality during the
Middle Ages and, more generally, under the Ancien Régime. It offers a selection of
shops with shopfront windows dating from the very end of the 15th century to the 19th century. Shopfront windows
are those large basket-handle or arched windows with a display shelf in the 18th century, or straight windows with a display shelf
in later periods. On the ground floor is the shop for trading or the workshop, if the premises are used
for craft work. The first floor houses the living quarters and the top floor the loft, used to store
goods, which were usually hoisted up using a pulley fitted above the dormer window. You can
in fact see a few of these. For centuries, people moved from one floor to another using
ladders. From Rue des Augustins, you can admire what remains of the Château Delphinal and its ramparts,
a structure that has been significantly altered over the centuries and is now privately owned.